stay alive until this horror show has passed
by Snow Glows Blue
Summary: George has no children of his own - so he holds his students as tight as he can, and helps them through the unimaginable. (It's the Year of the Carrows, and nobody in Hogwarts is safe.)


Nowhere in Hogwarts is really safe anymore, but Washington's classroom is as good as they're likely to find.

Everything hurts. It always does, after a lesson with one of the Carrows - Alexander is a Muggle-born Gryffindor, and they aren't inclined to be lenient - but even for him, that was excessive. He'd even managed to keep his sarcasm to himself.

Alexander tries to say this to Lafayette, who's supporting most of his weight (and how did that happen?) but John just presses closer to him, whispers, "I know, I know," against Alexander's temple, and urges him onward.

After what feels like an eternity of burning muscles and a bone-deep ache, John knocks on a classroom door. It's answered by George Washington, who hurries the three of them in like he's worried someone will see.

 _(He is - he can't afford not to be)_

"Cruciatus?" Lafayette nods; Washington lets out a long, slow breath. "Okay. Alexander, do you remember how long it lasted?"

Alexander thinks about that for a moment before giving up and shaking his head. "It's kinda blurry." He's slurring the words together, his accent thickening like it always does when he doesn't concentrate on hiding it. Lafayette is saying something on his left, but their accent also gets thicker when they're stressed and right now Alexander doesn't have the mental energy to spare.

There's a bit more hushed conversation - the only snatches that Alexander can catch are _nothing permanent, he'll be alright,_ which is reassuring, and _you three probably shouldn't be in the halls,_ which isn't - before John and Lafayette are half-carrying him to a spare room at the back of the class.

"Let's go, _petit leon._ It's safe here," Lafayette says, their accent soothing again rather than impossible to parse.

It isn't. It _really_ isn't.

But it's the closest Alexander will get.

xxx

It's only been a month and a half, but James has almost forgotten what it's like to not be afraid for his life.

He's a Ravenclaw, and he's good at keeping his head down, and he's friends with Thomas Jefferson. But even so he's Muggleborn, and everything about the world that James has come to love now tells him, _We want you dead. At the very least, we do not want you here._ He's only allowed in Hogwarts at all because Theodosia Bartow claimed to be his cousin, and even if it isn't talked about, everybody knows that.

So James works hard, spends as much time as possible at Thomas's side, and keeps his mouth shut.

But that doesn't mean he agrees.

 _(Two mornings after Alexander Hamilton disappears, pamphlets start appearing taped and pinned to the walls. They talk about tactics used by terrorists and dictators, about successful revolutions and civil disobedience)_

James finishes all his homework, does extra when he can. He grits his teeth when he writes his Muggle Studies essays, but he gives no hint of his prior knowledge.

 _(Nobody can recognize the handwriting)_

In class he doesn't speak unless he's called on, never raises his hand. He makes sure he's never alone, whether he tags along with Theo or Aaron or Thomas - they are high-status Purebloods, and their presence keeps him safer.

 _(Every single pamphlet is signed Darth Vader. Muggleborn and Muggle-raised students laugh, because they know that one of their own is behind this. The Carrows and the Wizarding-raised just think it's a foreign name)_

In the morning he reads the latest paper, secretively as everyone else: tucked into textbooks, hidden in piles of homework. He passes it along to the next person in line, and yes, Ravenclaw has an established lineup for things like this. He references those essays in conversation, even if he isn't quite so bold as to quote them directly.

 _(Nobody even suspects that the quiet Ravenclaw boy writes revolutionary essays once his homework is done. Nobody has noticed him sneaking out at night to put them where they will be seen)_

 _(James is very, very good at being quiet)_

xxx

Aaron is extremely conscious of his resources.

He's Pureblood, he's a Slytherin. He has a tentative alliance with Thomas Jefferson and close ties with almost half of the important families in Wizarding Britain. He knows exactly how high he stands in the hierarchy that Hogwarts has become.

And Aaron uses it.

When a first-year Hufflepuff named Sally Hemings is getting pushed around by Purebloods three times her size, Aaron starts walking with her, making it clear that she is under his protection. He signs up to be a tutor, helps younger students learn even through the Carrows. He speaks to Alexander only through proxies - but Alexander's writing gets pinned up in the hallways all the same.

The Carrows trust him. He's held up as the model student under this new regime. And nobody who would tell has any idea that he's been ferrying Muggleborns, blood traitors, at-risk halfbloods, and assorted rebels to the relative safety of the Room of Requirement since October.

Aaron isn't standing still - he's lying in wait.

xxx

George never even considers doing anything else.

They are children. When Alexander _(fifteen years old and so thin, so small, he once called George_ _ **father**_ _by mistake and on some level George thinks of him as_ _ **son**_ _)_ needs somewhere to heal and then to hide, George can't not provide one. When Lafayette brings other students _(all of them young and all of them terrified)_ , George hides them too. They aren't taking Ancient Runes; he doesn't know their names - but they know his.

George has no children of his own. So he holds his students as tight as he can, and helps them through the unimaginable.

xxx

Eliza does not cry.

Not because she doesn't want to. Her classmates are vanishing and she doesn't know whether they're safe or dead; her younger sister is hardening quickly and her elder sister is already ice. But any sign of weakness will attract enemies like flies, and as a Hufflepuff, Eliza is already at risk.

Eliza does what she can: she claims to be Alexander's cousin, teaches Sally and Peggy to lock their muscles before the Cruciatus connects, messes up Unforgiveables on purpose. She spends as much time as she can in the Hufflepuff common room _(safer than outside, always; Hufflepuff looks out for its own)_ and practices the Patronus charm until a glowing cloud becomes a sparkling silver dove - hones her kindness into a weapon, wears it like armor.

She is so, so lucky to be alive right now. Even if it doesn't always feel like it.

xxx

Angelica has always loved Yule at Hogwarts.

The castle is so beautiful, touched with the silver sheen of frost and a light dusting of snow; the castle is decorated with fairies and red ribbons. This year, the castle is even more lavishly done-up than usual, the snow falls early, and all Angelica's friends are with her.

 _(She is happy about this only in public)_

 _(Every year, the Schuyler sisters stay at Hogwarts for Yule. This year, nobody is allowed to leave)_

 _(Hogwarts traditions like Yule and the Sorting are celebrated. Quieter traditions, like safety and support, are ignored)_

Angelica says nothing of this - only curls against Maria in the bed they've agreed to share, holds Peggy and Eliza close, and plays the part of the Pureblood Slytherin princess. If Angelica caused any trouble, her sisters would pay the price.

She loves Eliza and Peggy more than anything in this life. She would choose their happiness over her own, every single time.

But even so, watching outgoing Peggy go quiet and sweet Eliza withdraw hurts more than the curses that Angelica is learning to cast.

xxx

There are stories coming out of Hogwarts, and Hercules likes none of them.

He gets a letter from Lafayette nearly every other day, alluding to things that Hercules wouldn't think about if he had any other choice but never outright saying anything.

 _(He would object to that, if it weren't for the panic-inducing two weeks during which there was radio silence from Hogwarts. John sent a note at the end, saying that all incoming and outgoing mail had been stopped after an unnamed Ravenclaw girl tried to tell her family in France about "the state of things in Hogwarts", which says more in itself that the Ravenclaw girl ever could have)_

Hercules responds immediately to every single one, more from the need to let Lafayette know he's alright than a particular need to speak to them.

 _(He does need to speak to them, but that isn't why he writes)_

He's running a small shop in Kent, buying cloth wholesale from Muggles instead of conjuring it himself and using sewing machines instead of magic to keep costs low. So far he's escaped notice entirely - halfbloods aren't ideal under the new regime but Hercules won't be called in for a Ministry hearing - but part of him wishes he'd taken a TA job for Washington at Hogwarts, where he could keep an eye on the others. He hasn't missed the fact that Alexander hasn't written in months, regardless of how many assurances he gets from John and Lafayette.

For four years, he acted in the place of a parent for these kids. He's not letting them down now.

xxx

John can't talk about it with anyone, but he's terrified.

Alexander stays with Washington, but John is well aware that it's not much safer than anywhere else. Lafayette may be a rich Pureblood, but they're also known to be friends (and more than friends) with Alexander. John finds himself in the same position; the Carrows won't spill pure blood, but his tolerance of the Cruciatus grows with each Dark Arts or Muggle Studies lesson.

The two of them, John and Lafayette, sit together in every class, hold hands through torture curses and hold one another through nightmares. But even with one another, even in the middle of the night across a pillow, they do not speak of how afraid they are.

 _(He dreams of Peggy bleeding and broken, of Alexander with the back of his skull smashed in, of Lafayette staring blankly upward with lifeless eyes)_

 _(John no longer wakes up screaming; it's amazing what the human mind can get used to, given enough time)_

xxx

James waits in the Dark Arts classroom. His detention is today.

This is because they know he's Muggleborn; they have no idea he also plays Darth Vader. Something in him seethes at it, but he knows better than to express this. It'll be over in ninety minutes, he tells himself.

"Today," Amycus Carrow announces with a grin on his face, "we'll be practicing the Imperius Curse on human test subjects, not just mice." He gestures towards the side of the room, where James, a Hufflepuff boy, and a Gryffindor girl are standing. "Here are your test subjects. Nott, you first."

Nott steps up to the Gryffindor girl _(Alyssa? Maybe)_ and says "Imperio," in a clear voice. Alyssa's eyes glaze over; she takes a step forward, then back, then forward, then back again. Nott smiles, twists his wand again to release her. She blinks to clear her eyes and then looks horrified.

James is too busy being terrified to feel sorry for her.

Crabbe is up next, and he aims his wand directly at James.

"Imperio," he says, almost a grunt, and James has maybe a quarter of a second to prepare before the spell hits and _oh -_ James feels like he's floating, like nothing actually matters - _Jump out the window_ \- he moves to take a step, before reconsidering - _Jump out the window_ \- does he really want to - _**Jump out the window**_ \- why should he - _**JUMP OUT THE WINDOW**_ -

\- he's falling -

xxx

In early April, James Madison vanishes.

His death is not acknowledged. His cause of death is not mentioned.

This does not mean that nobody knows.

xxx

Thomas knows he's lying to himself, but he still wants to believe it.

 _Maddy is safe. He's hiding somewhere - like Hamilton did. Like Sally. Like Abigail._

"No, Thomas," Burr whispers, and only then does Thomas realize he's spoken out loud. They're in the relative privacy of the fifth-year Slytherin boys' dorm, and their dormmates are all gone, but Thomas still clamps his mouth shut. He cannot afford to be so open with his thoughts.

"You don't know that," Thomas whispers back. Burr doesn't. Burr _can't._

Burr leans forward. Closer together means they can talk more quietly. "Two of the seventh years were bragging about it yesterday. 'Another Mudblood gone,' something like that." He sounds disgusted. _James was his friend too,_ Thomas remembers.

Thomas allows himself exactly one minute to mourn.

Then he blinks to clear away what tears have formed, swallows hard. Grief, like openness, is a luxury he cannot afford.

xxx

News travels slowly to the Room of Requirement, but travel it does.

Alexander hears about it via John, in late April, when he arrives at the Room to exchange food from the kitchens (unnecessary now that they have the Hog's Head passageway but still nice) for the stack of essays that Alexander has ready, every week like clockwork. "These will be really great," John says. "Darth Vader hasn't been writing since James Madison died -"

\- and _oh, right,_ John's a pureblood, he doesn't know that name -

\- wait, what?

"Maddy's dead?" Alexander says without thinking, because why Maddy? If it had been any of his Gryffindor friends he'd be devastated but he'd _understand,_ but Maddy was a Ravenclaw, Maddy kept his head down and kept his thoughts to himself, there was _no reason -_

He's crying now, and his head is pressed against John's heartbeat, with John's arms wrapped around his shoulders. "Yeah," John says, like it means anything, "the detention was for something ridiculous but they all knew he was Muggleborn, and they were practicing the Imperius that day, and Crabbe," and he leaves off there, but Alexander can fill in the rest for himself.

He's already decided.

Vincent Crabbe is going to die.

xxx

Lafayette loves their brother, but they don't think they've ever seen Thomas take things seriously. Even this year, with everything the twins have known crumbling around them, Thomas was always smiling, always walking with a bounce.

Thomas is not bouncing now.

Since James's body was found he has been serious, and restrained, and quiet. For the first few weeks it was tinted with _subdued, grieving_ \- now, it feels purposeful. Angry.

His intensity matches that of Alexander at work, like all his energy has been directed into rage. It is terrifying.

Lafayette stays by their brother whenever Thomas will allow, which is very seldom, and with John the rest of the time. But John is intense too; he hides how afraid he is, but Lafayette has always been good at noticing these things. They do not have the words to speak of it, not in English, and so it remains unspoken, but they know.

The pressure is rising steadily in Hogwarts. Lafayette cannot help but wonder how long it will take to explode.

xxx

Not so long at all, it turns out.

In May the Boy-Who-Lived returns to Hogwarts, and suddenly the tension becomes open war. Teenagers who have been missing for months appear out of the woodwork, all over the school.

 _(Alexander and Eliza fight back-to-back, Alexander screaming cutting curses while Eliza just barely holds up a shielding charm and yells when to duck, because you can't block a Killing Curse whatever they say about Harry Potter. Between them they take out six Death Eaters before the night is done)_

Even the ones who never fought the Carrows before are fighting them now.

 _(Angelica stands over her little sister's body; she doesn't know whether Peggy is dead or not but if Angelica left she would be)_

 _(Aaron takes Maria by the hand and together they_ _ **run,**_ _dodging curses and getting younger students behind portraits, behind tapestries, anywhere that might be safe)_

 _(Thomas sprints across the Great Hall with eyes like burning coals. He never got a chance to take out Crabbe the younger, the Fiendfyre did that for him, but Crabbe the elder falls within moments)_

Teachers _(McGonagall mobilizes every suit of armor in the castle)_ fight with a special kind of fury. _(Washington has left traps all down the hallway to his classroom; not even one person manages to attack the eleven-year-olds behind his door)_ They've been protecting these students all year.

Many of them survive.

 _(Peggy, with great effort, manages to stand up; casts another shield when Angelica's fails)_

 _(Sally Hemings hides in the shadows, curses Death Eaters as she sees them. They do not see her)_

Many of them do not.

 _(All of Washington's traps fall when he does)_

 _(John Laurens lies crumpled at the bottom of a staircase, hit in the back with a Killing Curse)_

But even the ones who do not see their glory, win.

xxx

They rebuild their lives. Not perfectly, and not without cracks, but they do.

 _(Alexander screams in his sleep for years afterward; most of the time, he does not sleep at all. He and Aaron share an apartment after graduation, take care of one another when they can't find it in them to take care of themselves)_

 _(Thomas and Lafayette transfer to Beauxbatons, where they both major in Defense magic. Lafayette eventually returns to Wizarding Britain; Thomas never does.)_

 _(One by one the Schuyler sisters graduate Hogwarts and move to New York City. Angelica becomes a lawyer; Eliza studies medicine both Muggle and magical; Peggy hops from job to job. They team up together, girls against the world.)_

 _(Maria wings her eyeliner sharp enough to kill a man, takes Sally Hemings under her wing. There is nobody to tell them they can't, after all, and when Maria is sixteen and Sally is fourteen - a year after the Carrows - they leave the Wizarding world entirely, get Muggle jobs and Muggle lives.)_

The sun comes up, the world still spins. Life moves on, and so do they.

But the horror show will never really pass.


End file.
